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Randy Sharon King Looking Back a keepsake from Memoir for Me memoirforme com

Randy 1960 Randy King b 1958 Randy King was born on March 6 1958 taking his parents Hassell and Betty Sue n e Yates by surprise My dad got laid off work and they were visiting family I was a couple of weeks early He joined older sister Terri Lynn b 1956 at home in Detroit Michigan but Randy s first memories were of the two flat in Cicero Illinois where he lived from 4 age 15 on 52nd Court The neighborhood was a mix of industrial and residential tracks of land and one of the bastions of the community was Sportsman s Park a racetrack specializing first in dog racing during the time of Al Capone then later thoroughbred and harness horses The park brought people from all over to the small community To us Cicero was a big town Now you go back there and the streets are so tiny and thin you wonder how cars can get down them Other siblings followed Heyward 1959 2012 Pamela b 1962 and Hassell b 1964 While his brother took his dad s name Randy adopted much of the same genetic code both in appearance and personality My sisters tell me we have the same mannerisms 3

Randy s father first worked in Chicago as a truck driver for Philips Screw Company delivering nuts bolts and screws all over the Chicago area The job allowed him to get home most school days to prepare lunch for the kids but otherwise he was rarely home He drove a cab on Friday nights and all day Saturday and then loved to play cards on Saturday nights He d come home early Sunday morning and sleep all day Then start all over Randy s mom Betty Sue was a loving homemaker but by the time Randy was 10 she fell into heavy drinking With their dad working 6 days a week the kids were often left to fend for themselves We were on our own most of the time My sister Terri helped out a lot with cooking and cleaning Thankfully there was never a shortage of friends from the neighborhood and Drexel Elementary to hang around with and the alleys and street corners were their playground One of these kids was Sharon Baldwin who would factor prominently in his life later along with Al Siedel and James Jimbo LaRue As a young boy sports became a great outlet It didn t cost any money to go play basketball or baseball We just had to get some people together 4 Terri Randy Hassell Heyward and Pam 1967

Randy with his family 1961 Randy was an average student in elementary school preferring to be outside with friends or making money at the nearby racetrack selling papers as early as 12 years old Randy s parents split up when he was starting high school at J Sterling Morton East and he and his siblings were divided into different homes Randy spent time living with both of his parents each in a room too small for comfort I moved in with Mom for a year She lived in a real tiny apartment with an attic above it I stayed there with Heyward and it wasn t heated or cooled You had to move a couch away from the door to get in there His dad s place wasn t much better with a room too small to even close the door These disruptions made school years a bit shaky but overall Randy s approach towards his academics changed dramatically once he reached 6th grade His slightly competitive nature came in handy I saw other people doing better and thought I can do that He became an honors student fell in love with reading and the sciences and excelled in his schoolwork while still finding time for work at the track By 16 he was caring for horses and maintaining the racetrack grounds It was a job nothing glamorous I worked for the money because nobody was giving it to me If I wanted to save anything I had to work 5

While parents Hassell and Betty Sue provided food and a roof over his head anything extra was to be earned My dad would give me a dollar a day to go to school Lunch was 90 cents and the bus cost a dollar so he d tell me It s your choice whether you want to take the bus or eat lunch I always chose to eat The many hours working at the racetrack paid off At 16 Randy had saved enough to buy his first car a used 1966 Dodge Dart It was bright blue and I fixed it up It wasn t a very fast car but it got me around Having a car brought freedom just as he was getting serious with someone from school Sharon Baldwin When he wasn t at school or the racetrack Randy enjoyed spending time with Sharon as many of their other neighborhood friends got mixed up with drugs and alcohol A lot of our friends started going the wrong way and I told them to have a nice day Thankfully Randy and Sharon had similar values and despite their young age knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together Randy had made plans to join the ROTC program and get a college degree with the Air Force but before he left they decided to get married The two tied the knot on March 6 1976 in a small ceremony at Redeemer Lutheran Church 6 Wedding Day March 6 1976

Bob and Betty Hogan late 1980s Tim and Randy King 1998 Sharon was Catholic but her church wouldn t marry us because I wasn t baptized They were a little more strict back then Randy tried to conform to Sharon s Catholic tradition I offered to get baptized I scheduled a meeting and the Priest never showed up I scheduled another meeting and the Priest had forgotten about it again So I just gave up on that idea and we found this Lutheran church that would marry us They were happy in love and Sharon was pregnant She dropped out of school but Randy stuck it out to prepare for college and his time with the Air Force I was going to train to be a pilot and give them 6 years I took the test and passed They met me in the high school for the final paperwork but when they found out I got married a week before they pulled the scholarship The Air Force wanted young men that would make the service their life career They thought that having a wife back home made this unlikely Randy quickly rebounded with a new job at Interstate Motor Freight Systems working as a dockman loading and uploading trucks He was only 18 but the company thought he was much older based on his looks Randy almost lost his job a few months later when they asked him to fill out paperwork and discovered his birthdate Thankfully the labor union stepped in to save his job because he had been there over a month and was past the point of probation 7

Randy s job was tested again when the company reorganized I had heard that anyone who wasn t a dockman spotter was going to be laid off Randy knew he had to get promoted But there was a problem He had to learn how to drive a truck They asked me if I could drive a truck I said Absolutely They left and I looked at the guy next to me and asked him Hey do you drive a truck He says Yeah I said Teach me today I can t afford to lose this job I ve got a family His impromptu driving instructor had only been on the job for two days but it worked Randy passed the test and became a dockman spotter They kept me on and laid off a bunch of people even though I was younger Either way they were going to get rid of me If I couldn t drive it they were going to get rid of me and if I said no they would ve gotten rid of me With the steady paycheck from Interstate the newlyweds were able to move out of Sharon s parents basement and into an apartment together on 31st Place in Cicero Daughter Amber Marie was born August 14 1976 Further company reorganization sent Randy out to Elk Grove Village for work which was a drive from their home in Cicero With his military plan scrapped Randy decided to join the police force something he was interested in since childhood 8 Randy serving Westmont Police in 1980 and 2003

Amber Randy Sharon and Vanessa 1984 My mom found a paper I wrote in elementary school saying that I wanted to be a police officer I never wanted to be a fireman You ve gotta be nuts to run into a burning building In 1980 Randy was offered a job with the Westmont Police Department went through the Chicago Police Academy and loved every minute He loved the schedule discipline and did very well with range practice Another department called me and I told them I d go if they sent me back to the Academy It was so much fun But he stayed with Westmont and in 1983 Randy and Sharon moved from an apartment on 65th Street to a single family home at 21 W 59th Street They had 2 more children Vanessa Nicole b 1983 and Timothy Adam b 1985 Like his father Randy submersed himself in work picking up night shifts and extra day shifts to support his growing family Though the hours were long he enjoyed the work and was promoted steadily from Patrol Officer to Sergeant to Deputy Chief 9

Randy also went back to school during this time eventually earning a Master s Degree in criminal justice which he used to teach as an Adjunct Professor at Westwood College Despite the advanced degree his time with the police force is the most memorable he loved the unpredictable nature of the job It was always something different every day you never knew what to expect The work also appealed to his strong moral character I like arresting bad people especially if they hurt somebody They shouldn t get away with it Family traditions were scheduled around Randy s work schedule including gatherings and summer vacations I worked all different shifts so Christmas was always in the morning before I went to work or when I came home after working midnights While he spent many hours on the job Randy tried to make time for all his kids who were getting older and involved in their own activities Daughter Amber loved school and swimming We were on vacation at Jellystone Park and went to this big pool She wanted me to throw her in so I did People screamed But she swam right back to the edge of the pool She could swim when she was 2 years old 10 Grand Canyon 1995

Vanessa Tim and Amber at basic training graduation 2003 With Vanessa Randy remembers track meets and a hot trip to Disneyworld when she just held up her hair in angst with the humidity Randy remembers his son Tim as a constant moving blur climbing everywhere This nature served him well in many sports at Fairmont Elementary then O Neil Jr High and Downers Grove South High School where all the kids went to school Tim decided to join the Army a move that was met with split opinion in the household Randy accepted Tim s decision in his usual pragmatic manner My theory was what it s ok to have someone else s son fight for us but not our own It s his choice not ours Tim finished high school and left for basic training in Ft Knox Kentucky at the age of 18 He was shipped out to Germany and then spent 11 months stationed in Baghdad Iraq Randy will never forget talking to him after a near brush with death Tim called me as a scared boy They were driving and fell behind their group and their Sergeant told him to speed up Just as they did an IED blew up the car behind them This is not a game This is for real Tim came home from that tour a changed man He completed a 2nd tour of Iraq first stationed near the Syrian border then in Fallujah 11

The military does 2 things screw you up or straighten you out It straightened Tim out He left listening to hard rock and came back listening to country and western music I don t think it was the Army that straightened him out so much as what he saw in Iraq Thankfully Tim came back home in one piece and now serves as a paramedic and firefighter with Rolling Meadows Like his son Randy has also had many close calls while on the job including many run ins with guns In January of 1995 Randy was struck by a car while investigating a traffic accident at 61st and Cass Avenue He is lucky to be alive I was in a cast for 10 months The first 2 doctors wouldn t work on me They had to call a specialist to put my leg back together There were 3 hospital stays and 5 operations that first year After being off for almost a year Randy had to fight not only for his life but also his job The force sent me to their doctor who wanted to give me disability The doctor goes I know how badly you want to return to work but I don t want you to have to answer a call to my house The doctor didn t think Randy could handle the physical demands of the job Randy s persistence and some bravado paid off once again with a discussion that went something like this Vanessa Matt s Wedding 2010

Grandpa Annabelle 2014 Grandpa August 2018 Randy Where do you live Doctor Hinsdale Randy I work Westmont I ll never answer a call to your house Plus I know officers who live in Hinsdale I bet you drive don t you Doctor What does that mean Randy Take it as you want but I want to go back to work Doctor You want to go back to work Go back to work Officer Randy King returned to the job and stayed with the force until July of 2010 serving Westmont for 30 years and 4 months He suffers residual pain from the accident with back neck and leg issues and also now has further complications from diabetes As he nears 60 he still works part time security for Calamos Investments and enjoys spending down time at their cottage in Ottawa with his wife of 42 years He relishes a new role Grandfather Daughter Vanessa and her husband Matt have given Randy two grandkids to spoil Annabelle b 2014 and August b 2018 It s great playing teaching and watching them grow You don t have to discipline them as much because you re not with them 24 7 Kids test their parents a lot but they don t seem to test their grandparents as much Randy s no nonsense attitude comes in handy now as a grandfather 13

I just tell her no You want to cry for 2 minutes Go ahead Somewhere between 30 seconds and 2 minutes later she s running around playing again Randy wants to see more of the world while his health still allows him to do so He s proud of his family and surviving from his independent childhood to beating the odds that many of his friends did not I m proud that I got out and gave my kids a decent start While he reflects on the long hours he put towards work he admits he was only doing it to support his family Nobody wishes that they had worked more At the time I was trying to put money away so we could buy a decent house and pay for 4 years of college for each of the kids I worked too much But Randy stops short of saying he has regrets You can t change the past you just have to try to do better in the future When asked the secret to his long relationship he says it comes down to understanding your differences Communication is overrated It s give and take and understanding the other person Randy also admits much of their success as a couple comes down to his choice in a wife It s all Sharon Sharon and Randy 2014 14

Sharon 1962 Sharon Julia Baldwin King b 1958 Sharon Julia Baldwin was born on September 30 1958 in Chicago She joined older sisters Diane Mary b 1952 and Carol Jeanette b 1953 at their home at 1510 49th Avenue in Cicero Illinois I was teased a lot by my older sisters but we all got along Sharon also had a half sister Cathy who was born with disabilities Cathy lived with her maternal grandparents then at a group facility in Lake Zurich Though not living together Cathy was a big part of Sharon s life growing up Sharon s father Lee Earl was loving but worked a lot in maintenance first for the town of Cicero then later at Sportsman s Park Racetrack He took care of the track getting it ready for races If they were racing he d have to work 10 12 hours a day Lee worked 2nd and 3rd shift so was often around to see the girls off to school and prepare their lunch In summer Lee was happiest behind the grill hosting friends or family for a BBQ My dad was very easy going and family oriented 15

Sharon s mother Jeanette Lillian n e Tulcus was a homemaker and wonderful cook especially the southern foods of which her husband was accustomed to growing up in Alabama Jeanette met Lee while serving him food and drink at her parent s bar Horn Palace at 41st and Halsted She carried on the role as his loving wife making wonderful dishes such as chicken and dumplings and oxtail soup We had a small kitchen and it seemed like she was always in there Many of my memories of her are from the kitchen In 1961 the Baldwin family settled into a house that would be the girls childhood home at 3712 S 53rd Avenue in Cicero The neighborhood was family friendly with plenty of kids to play with on the same block All of the neighbors knew each other and kids would be out from morning until night Many of the houses on the block including the Baldwins had pools so during warmer months Sharon was often swimming Other parts of the year you could find her and her friends outside jumping rope hide andseek or playing tag Someone was always coming up with something new to do I remember we used to play this game outside on the stairs Someone would pick up a rock and you had to guess which hand it was in If you guessed right you got to move up the stairs Sharon s mother Jeanette 1951 16 Sharon s father Lee Earl 1953

Grandparents Tony and Magdalene Tulcus 1915 The game naming convention only made sense if you were a kid We called it School or something like that It didn t take much to entertain the gang which included girls who would become friends for life Sue Terry Linda Julie Mary Claire and Liz In addition to a close circle of friends Sharon was blessed with grandparents who lived close by Maternal Grandpa Anton Tony and Grandma Magdalene Tulcus were immigrants from Lithuania who came to the U S separately but met though mutual friends here in the States Sharon remembers many special visits to their house in Chicago They had a glider swing in their backyard and we would sit out there with Grandpa and he would always tell us stories She also remembers shenanigans in their basement fooling around with her sisters in the wheeled laundry cart and all fighting for the Sunday comics Grandma Tulcus was a wonderful cook She made kugelis a potato dish with bacon eggs and you serve it with sour cream or applesauce My sister Diane still makes it to this day and has perfected it Grandpa Tulcus was generous of spirit Whenever he would come to our house he made sure to have change in his pocket to give us each a quarter for Nicky s the corner store to buy a bag of candy We always looked forward to it 17

Grandma Tulcus Sharon Cathy Carol and Diane 1970 So did the dogs He always had yummy treats in his pocket for them He was the greatest always so kind and loving Sharon s memories of Grandpa Tulcus end early he died when she was 5 Paternal grandmother Lillian Mae nee Goodwin Baldwin was another strong female influence in Sharon s life Grandma Mae lived in Des Arc Arkansas but hosted Sharon and her sisters for frequent visits over the summer months She was a hardy woman who worked most her life in the fields and taught Sharon how to split a chicken She had this beautiful old house and she would rent the rooms out There was a river nearby where you could hunt and fish I remember my uncles hunting deer and the first time I saw one in their trunk While the scenery was bucolic and quaint with a porch swing pecan trees and chickens running around the lack of modern amenities was rough for the city girls I remember it being so hot there There were fans in the bedroom but no central air and you d just sit there melting A trip to see Grandma Mae s neighbor sticks in Sharon s memory 18 Her neighbor was blind and we got there and she was playing the piano beautifully I remember thinking how hard

that must be The experience stuck with me Between this moment and spending time with her half sister Cathy Sharon connected with people living with disability This would play out in her life later but first she had to get through her school years Sharon attended Drexel Elementary as a self described average student preferring to be with friends outside than buried in a book I was outdoorsy but not into sports They called me a tomboy Sharon could hold her own in a group of boys when she was little When we were little it was always girls and boys You played together Stevie Wagner used to torment me hold my head underwater but he was smaller than me The block was in a frenzy one morning in January of 1966 when the Baldwin family home caught fire A faulty furnace was to blame and Sharon s dad could ve lost his life My mom was out getting her hair done and my dad was sleeping because he had worked the night before The dogs and a neighbor woke him up My dad was hospitalized with smoke inhalation because he went back in to get the dogs out Jean Diane Carol Sharon and Lee 1967 19

Seven year old Sharon was walking home for lunch before she realized what had happened I heard all these fire trucks and the closer I got people were coming towards me One of our neighbors came and took me to her house and gave me lunch It was very scary Thankfully no one was hurt but the Baldwins had to rent a place for the next 6 months while they rebuilt their home Much of their belongings including brand new toys from the recent Christmas season went up in smoke or was ruined by water damage We lost all the Christmas toys I had just gotten a drum set What was salvageable went into the family garage for storage and safekeeping or so they thought Soon after the fire someone broke into the garage and stole much of what was left of their belongings It was a very difficult time Thankfully no one was harmed physically in either incident and one blessing to come out of it was renovation The Baldwin s reworked the basement into a separate rentable unit perfect for jockeys who wanted to stay close to the racetrack Their first renters were Duncan Price and his wife Candy The Prices became a constant in Sharon s life sharing their horse Terry Gene Captain Craig with the young girl They filled a critical role in the young girl s life when in 1968 Sharon s mother lost her battle with alcoholism She was only 49 and Sharon only 9 Lee was left with 3 girls to raise 20 Grandpa Russell Baldwin with Diane Sharon and Carol 1964 The Baldwin Sisters 1961

Diane Sharon and Carol 1968 My dad did a great job raising us 3 girls I have missed my mom not being in my life but I know she has been watching over me Between Candy Price Grandma Tulcus and Grandma Mae there was no shortage of strong female role models for Sharon Her friends from the neighborhood were another source of support including a young man named Randy King He lived on the next block and by 7th and 8th grade had made his intentions known I remember babysitting for the family down the block one night and sitting out on the porch Randy came up and said if you ever need help with your homework I d be happy to help you That was the beginning He also was quick to dismiss any other possible love interests A friend of mine Roberta wanted me to ask Randy if he liked her So I asked him and he goes if she wants to know she can ask me herself Randy was blunt even if it meant disparaging his own family I actually knew his brother Heyward One day I was outside and Randy said You shouldn t hang around with my brother because he is hanging with the wrong crowd That just melted my heart 21

It was clear who Randy had feelings for and after their first date mini golfing and sharing a meal at the local McDonalds the two became an item High school was a rocky time for Sharon so it was good timing to have Randy in her corner My freshman year was very difficult I didn t do well with change and it was hard making new friends Randy and I always got along and understood each other s family situation Still reeling from early losses of her mother and family strife related to her father s new wife life was challenging Though her parents were not regular churchgoers Sharon latched on to Catholicism and it became a lifeline through many rough times I ve carried on a lot of my grandparents same values I remember going to church with them and Grandma Tulcus always had a rosary or statues around the house But as I got older I went to church on my own But Sharon s faith did waver at times After my mom died I was preparing for confirmation and at one point didn t want to make it I was thinking how could this happen There was a lot going on in my life and I was left with a lot of questions 22 Sharon s family plus Aunt Ann and Uncle Bill 1961

Sharon and Randy on their wedding day 1976 Sister Mary from Our Lady of Charity had a talk with young Sharon that stuck with her She took me aside and said Sometimes we don t have all the answers to what happens Whatever she said it worked and my faith grew from there Sharon made her confirmation and her Catholic faith has been a beacon of light during life s ups and downs One particular upswing was marrying Randy The two were just seniors in high school but certain about spending the rest of their lives together We had a beautiful wedding I didn t want anything big Sister Diane helped with the planning and the two were married on Randy s 18th birthday March 6 1976 The joke was that he d never forget our anniversary date They honeymooned locally at the Hyatt Rosemont and enjoyed dinner in an upscale restaurant that rotated atop the hotel Sharon was pregnant had dropped out of high school and though she and Randy were young they were ready to start a family Amber came in August of 1976 and it was one of the happiest days of my life It was a blessing to have a healthy baby girl As the first grandchild born on either side of the family she was spoiled That first Christmas the floor was just filled with presents for Amber After living in the extra unit in Sharon s childhood home for a time the couple saved enough money for an apartment of their own on 31st Place in Cicero A few years later Randy had gotten a job with the Westmont Police 23

Sharon worked at Sportsman s Park part time when Amber was first born and then in 1981 got a job working nights at the Pepperidge Farm bakery while she finished her GED We were saving money and Randy wanted to buy a motorcycle I asked When are we ever going to buy a house He said Probably never What Randy didn t know is that Sharon had taken money out of the credit union to put down on a motorcycle but after his flip comment she changed her mind And so he didn t get his motorcycle and we started looking for a house shortly thereafter But it would take some time It turns out that working for a local police department can complicate house hunting Randy knew more about his potential neighbors than the average homebuyer Every house we looked at there was either a drug dealer nearby or something else Randy knew everything wrong with every neighborhood After 2 years of this I told him you let me know when you find a house we can live in Amber and Grandpa Baldwin 1977 24

Sharon with Grandma Mae 1980 In 1982 Randy finally found the right home while out golfing with his brother They spotted a for sale sign on 59th street right adjacent to the course and it was perfect Randy and Sharon bought their first house at 21 W 59th Street and soon welcomed two more children Vanessa b 1983 and Tim b 1985 Sharon continued working at Pepperidge Farm until 1986 when she started her own in home daycare watching her 2 younger children in addition to a few others from police and local school families I was licensed for 7 children but I usually had about 5 kids to look after Besides working Sharon enjoyed the simple joys that being a mother can bring trips to the Twin Lakes Park daily during the warmer months and weekend getaways up in Wisconsin Amber enjoyed a summer at space camp and Vanessa and Tim loved Camp Minocqua in Wisconsin Sharon ran the in home daycare for 8 years but in 1994 decided to return to something she had always been interested in travel 25

Diane Sharon and Carol 2001 Before Vanessa and Tim were born Sharon had taken some certification classes at the College of DuPage After closing up her daycare she started working with a friend as a travel agent part time to learn the industry She soon found a job with United Airlines working in cargo reservations but quickly realized it was not a good fit I sat in a cubicle all day Very boring it wasn t for me The drive from Westmont to Elk Grove Village was another downside I remember driving there just dreading it Every day I d be praying on my way to work dear Lord help me find whatever I m supposed to be doing God answered Lo and behold one day a note came home in one of the children s bags looking for a teacher s assistant The flyer was from the School Association for Special Education in DuPage County SASED looking specifically for help with special needs Sharon felt well suited for the job and proved it she was hired I was around disability for much of my life 26 In December of 1994 Sharon started working as a rotating substitute teacher at Whittier Elementary in Downers Grove A month later she was hired as a long term substitute

With this blessing came misfortune On January 5 1995 Randy was hit by a car while on the job investigating an accident He would recover but it would be a long recovery ahead The accident had smashed up his leg so severely that it would require several surgeries to repair Sharon was incredibly lucky that her new employer was flexible and understanding I could come home from lunch and take off when needed In 1996 Sharon started working at Westmont High School and was paired up with a young man with Down Syndrome She loved the job and met other friends for life including Pat Devine and Mimi Nolan The millennium brought new challenges They got home to a message from Sharon s Aunt Ann who had fallen and was at the hospital She had surgery but never came out of it She died a month later With Ann s passing Sharon became her half sister Cathy s guardian a role she has cherished Cathy has taught me a lot through the years You learn never to take anything for granted We have everything we need If you have love and family that s all you really need Linda Terri Sharon Sue Julie Mary and Sharon 2004 27

Life had more challenges in store In 2002 her youngest Tim decided to join the Army and was deployed to Iraq Through all of these rough spots Sharon leaned heavily on Randy her close friends and her faith My faith has carried me through a lot of challenges Sharon took a year off from teaching to explore travel careers again in 2001 but the terrorist attacks on September 11 of that year changed the industry so much that she decided to return to the classroom She has been working with SASED ever since I plan to retire in a few years but I don t mind the work Sharon works with vision impaired students and still remembers that visit long ago with Grandma Mae to see her blind neighbor play piano Life comes full circle sometimes Now nearing her 60th birthday Sharon enjoys time with Randy her kids and now two grandchildren Annabelle b 2014 and August b 2018 It s wonderful being a grandparent You can enjoy them more because you re not stressed with all the details that parents go through Plus you re older so you know to relax and enjoy each moment

The grandkids enjoy simple time with them so much so that for Annabelle s recent 3rd birthday all she wanted to do was go to Nana and Papa s cottage to go swimming It s just the little things that you do for them It means everything Randy and Sharon will be married 42 years together this year and when she reflects on a long life together she is quick to point out the key to it s success You have to accept people for who they are and not want to change them He picks me up when I m down and I pick him up when he s down There were many people who said to us that we wouldn t last but they were wrong and we were right I wouldn t have it any other way After many years together they think alike For Christmas in 2017 each secretly bought the other an iPad They had done this once before and ended up with two massage tables Sharon hopes the future holds more opportunity to travel and spend time with family and friends Of all her many accomplishments she is most proud about her kids

Looking back Sharon cherishes all the special memories of her children growing up from the various activities they were involved in to the fun family vacations they have gone on together Disney World and the Grand Canyon were among her favorites trips I m so blessed that they are all healthy and have achieved more than I could ve imagined You always hope that your children are all successful and happy and they seem to all be enjoying life Randy and I are enjoying it too At least I am I don t know about him Some beautiful memories that brought Sharon so much joy include a The birth of each child a Amber s high school and college graduation then watching her get her psychology degree and a job as a School Psychologist at Valley View School a Vanessa s graduation from high school and college then watching her fulfill her passion by getting a job in the film industry in wardrobe costuming a Vanessa and Matt s wedding day as Matt and Vanessa dated in high school and I remember thinking what a great guy he was back then and how we all want our children to marry a kind and loving person like Matt The two went their separate ways during college and got back together years later and were married on September 10 2010 a The birth of our granddaughter Annabelle in 2014 and our grandson August in 2018 a Tim s graduation from Army basic and tank training at Fort Knox KY then choice of careers as a firefighter and paramedic I remember he enjoyed a field trip as a young boy to the Westmont Fire Station Now he is a full time firefighter paramedic for Rolling Meadows Fire Department Now watching her daughter raise two kids Sharon shares her gift of perspective with love I tell Vanessa not to worry so much I worried a lot Everything is going to be all right Somehow it all just works out in the end 30